Cullowhee, N.C. – Just over 24 hours away from its first scrimmage of the 2019 fall camp, Western Carolina held its seventh practice session of the preseason on Friday morning, working out for two hours in shells on the turf at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.

Saturday, Aug. 10 in Cullowhee will be a busy one as all three of the fall sports teams that have reported will each practice on campus with the football team conducting its first scrimmage. Saturday’s full pad practice is scheduled for 2:30 pm and will be followed at 5:00 pm by a special preseason Facebook LIVE event, presented by Stanberry Insurance, with head coach Mark Speir. The eighth-year coach will sit down with Catamount Sports Network personalities Gary Ayers and Daniel Hooker from the new “Catamount Corner” at the Ramsey Center end of the stadium. Fans can watch the event through the WCU Athletics Facebook page (fb.com/catamountsports).

Sunday represents an off-day from practice. However, the team will partner with WCU spirit groups and members of the “Pride of the Mountains” Marching Band for the first-ever “Victory Day” in Cullowhee. The special afternoon event will provide cognitively and physically impaired children the opportunity to play football or cheer with the Catamounts as the players serve as mentors for the day. Participants will wear a WCU game jersey and participate in several simulated game day activities that give each child a chance to shine.

Both single-game and season tickets for all six home dates in 2019 are on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center or by phone at (800)34-GOWCU or (828) 227-2401. Fans can also purchase season tickets online by visiting CatamountSports.com. Tickets for the home and season-opener against Mercer – the “Purple Out” that includes postgame fireworks presented by Ingles and iHeartMedia partners 99.9 Kiss Country and Star 104.3 FM – are going fast!

Up next in this year’s preseason "Get to Know" features is Christian Yarborough, a senior running back from Indian Trail, N.C. Seeing the bulk of his career action as a defensive reserve and on special teams, Yarborough made the transition to running back, a position he played in high school, prior to the 2019 season.